A Piece of Heaven

Given the recent events to which we have all been subjected, perhaps a healthy, upbeat, non cynical romcom might do the trick for weary viewers tired of the real world out there. Especially if it’s something that would be relatively simple to shoot given the production parameters of the COVID-19 era.

What if that romcom dealt with a relationship between two well-intentioned individuals subject to bizarre, uncontrollable circumstances that appear in their lives, seemingly hell bent on messing with the relationship? No, not a pandemic, or mass protests, or a faltering economy. But an event so bizarre and so unpredictable...

Consider AARON GREELEY (33), a documentary filmmaker of some festival success, and ERIN SANDERSON (32), a funeral organizer laid off with the end of public funerals during the recent global healing crisis, and their chance encounter at a local Tucson, Arizona watering hole. Attraction is instantaneous. As is kismet as they chat about a news story featuring UFO video on the bar’s TV. The couple leaves the bar and settles into his vehicle. They open the sun roof to prevent window fogging and during the throes of passionate making out and become aware they are being observed by a hovering drone.

The couple commences building a significant relationship. Given their odd ice breaker at the bar, they decide to spend a night at the Space Age Lodge in Gila Bend, Arizona, and while they’re at it, they explore some rumored alien ship landing sites. Here they meet a mysterious old-timer, VOLNEY, who intimates he might have exactly what they’re looking to find... whether they know what they seek or not.

As fate would have it, during Erin’s work as a funeral planner, she accidentally viewed an alien in a casket in a funeral home’s cooler. The funeral home was in a small, sunbaked town near a military intelligence facility, whose activities attracted the attention of the extraterrestrials. The ET’s know of Erin’s discovery and have been watching her ever since.

The aliens possess an agenda to rebrand the interest of humans in their existence and their Earth-saving message. They are more than galactically gleeful when Erin meets Aaron, a guy who can shoot a film specifically to their liking. But first, the aliens assigned to keep an eye on Erin, CASSIOPEIA and RIGEL (both ageless) must ensure that this new couple has the right stuff to stay together when the going gets weird. So, with the enlistment of Erin’s aunt BELINDA (41) a Sedona-based real estate agent and former UFO abductee, they decide to stress the relationship to the breaking point... and actually traverse a bridge too far.

Will Erin and Aaron figure out the merit of their relationship despite otherworldly interference? Yes, it is a romcom! And after all, this relationship’s fate is literally in the stars.

Will the aliens get their movie made? Yes, with Volney’s assistance, and it will be a festival winner!

Will the world finally come to a meaningful understanding of the existence of other life forms and positively engage with them? Well, that’s pushing it. Regardless, the message is stated.

Could this sassy romcom be an oasis in an entertainment-thirsty time? Absolutely. And with it comes an abundance of absurdity and mind-stretching insights throughout.